Growing Companies Hunt for Elbow Room

Lately Greater Cincinnati has been proving its power to attract growing companies, which are moving into the region, expanding and thriving.

Take Everything but the House, a fast-growing online auction firm, which the Cincinnati Business Courier reported is hunting for 18,000 square feet of space downtown. The planned move is part of the company’s growth strategy and represents an important win for the city, which will hold on to a company that also considered moving its headquarters to Chicago. Last year the company generated $14 million in revenue last year.

Although a lease has yet to be signed, the online auction firm hopes to move into the new space by the end of the year. On Monday, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a 45 percent, five-year job creation tax credit valued at $103,000 for the project, which is expected to create 40 full-time jobs and generate $2 million in annual payroll by the end of 2018. To qualify for the credit, the company must keep its operations in downtown Cincinnati for at least eight years.

Everything but the House is not alone in its search for elbow room. The Business Courier also reported that a second company, California-based Printograph, is growing in the area. The online printing firm plans to invest $6.1 million in a 32,000-square-foot expansion at its 2000 Arbor Tech Drive facility in Hebron.

Like Everything but the House, Printograph is receiving a boost from the local government. On Aug. 27, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved $230,000 in tax incentives for the project. Over the next three years, Printograph’s expansion will add 35 new employees to the company’s current workforce of 110.